Worst-Case Scenario

A hiccup in their plans to lead their school’s Queer Student Alliance negatively impacts a teen’s increasingly fragile mental health in this perceptive romance from Stoeve (The Summer Love Strategy). Nonbinary 16-year-old Sidney Walker is floored when transgender class clown Forrest Hirschler runs against them for president of the QSA; they’re even more astonished when the vote ends in a tie, and it’s decided they’ll share the presidency. Though Sidney’s pragmatic desire to create an educational advocacy space chafes against Forrest’s fun-oriented approach, Sidney soon thaws to his infectious positivity. Simultaneously, Sidney navigates a fraught relationship with their alcohol-dependent father and worries about falling behind in school. As stress mounts, Sidney experiences increasingly frequent bouts of anxiety brought on by visceral visions of disaster. Enlivened by playful rom-com devices, empathetic prose and Sidney’s vulnerable first-person narration vividly portray the protagonist’s emotional distress, resulting in an honest unpacking of one teen’s struggle to manage their spiraling mental health alongside authentic high school drama. Resources and a contextualizing author’s note conclude. Main characters read as white. Ages 12–up. Agent: Lauren Abramo, Dystel, Goderich & Bourret. (Jan.)